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Bison finish season on a powerful note
By Jeff Kolpack, The Forum
Published Saturday, February 26, 2005
http://www.in-forum.com/articles/ind...462§ion=Sports
The season ended at the Bison Sports Arena Friday night, not at some tournament venue that had North Dakota State wrestlers mentally and physically exhausted.
It wasn't a Division II title, but a convincing 34-6 dual victory over South Dakota State before 908 fans was about the best way a Division I reclassification team can finish a season.
"It's nice to be home and they'll be our rivals for the next 20 years," Bison heavyweight Tim Kraemer said. "We beat them 34-6 and that makes you feel a little better but every single person here wants to go to a national tournament."
The Bison, 10-4, reached double digits in victories for the 25th time in head coach Bucky Maughan's career. They have one more year of being ineligible for the NCAA tournament, which wasn't easy on the upperclassmen this year.
"It's really been tough on them," Maughan said. "I'm glad the year is over and 10-4 is not bad with a Division I schedule. We have a long, long way to go but I think we're still on track."
NDSU senior Collin Kelly put the final stamp on the season, and his career, with a pin in the last match. Trailing 3-2 against Andy Everson at 157, Kelly's reversal turned into a fall.
"I just squeezed as hard as I could," he said. "I'm glad I ended with a win because I was on a bad streak."
The Bison started the SDSU match on a good streak. Starting at 174 pounds, two of NDSU's first four wrestlers got a takedown in the first 10 seconds of their match.
"Our first couple guys didn't have the intensity that we wanted," SDSU head coach Jason Liles said.
The Jacks didn't get an offensive point -- something other than an escape -- until Marcus Waters registered a reversal at 125, which was the fifth bout of the match. They didn't get a lead until the sixth match when Chris Werth got a takedown.
By then, technical falls by Matt Hermann at 184 and Mike Meger at 125, which were worth five team points each, and decisions by Adam Dahlstrom at 174, Dustin Benz at 197 and Kraemer gave NDSU an insurmountable 19-0 lead.
Kraemer's win capped a six-match winning streak to finish the season, including a dramatic decision at the University of Wyoming that gave the Bison a 22-21 victory. He ended as the winningest NDSU wrestler at 31-7.
"I didn't know what to expect coming into this year," Kraemer said. "I didn't know about wrestling at heavyweight. You're never satisfied but I'm happy with it."
The Jackrabbits finished 10-8 with a team that had two juniors and the rest freshmen or sophomores against NDSU.
They rallied for both of their wins, getting points in the last 25 seconds at 141 and 149.
174: Adam Dahlstrom, NDSU, dec. Travis Gottschalk, 12-5.
184: Matt Hermann, NDSU, tech. fall over Levi Krehmayer, 23-8, 4:22.
197: Dustin Benz, NDSU, dec. Cody Nehl, 3-1.
Hwt.: Tim Kraemer, NDSU, dec. Scott Revier, 11-5.
125: Mike Meger, NDSU, tech. fall over Marcus Waters, 24-9, 6:52.
133: Nick Magee, NDSU, dec. Chris Werth, 8-6.
141: Dusty Kavitz, SDSU, dec. Lucas Christianson, 8-7.
149: Chad Herboldt, SDSU, dec. Peter Hayes, 3-2.
157: Collin Kelly, NDSU, pinned Andy Everson, 2:50.
165: Andy Pickar, NDSU, won by forfeit.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Jeff Kolpack at (701) 241-5546
By Jeff Kolpack, The Forum
Published Saturday, February 26, 2005
http://www.in-forum.com/articles/ind...462§ion=Sports
The season ended at the Bison Sports Arena Friday night, not at some tournament venue that had North Dakota State wrestlers mentally and physically exhausted.
It wasn't a Division II title, but a convincing 34-6 dual victory over South Dakota State before 908 fans was about the best way a Division I reclassification team can finish a season.
"It's nice to be home and they'll be our rivals for the next 20 years," Bison heavyweight Tim Kraemer said. "We beat them 34-6 and that makes you feel a little better but every single person here wants to go to a national tournament."
The Bison, 10-4, reached double digits in victories for the 25th time in head coach Bucky Maughan's career. They have one more year of being ineligible for the NCAA tournament, which wasn't easy on the upperclassmen this year.
"It's really been tough on them," Maughan said. "I'm glad the year is over and 10-4 is not bad with a Division I schedule. We have a long, long way to go but I think we're still on track."
NDSU senior Collin Kelly put the final stamp on the season, and his career, with a pin in the last match. Trailing 3-2 against Andy Everson at 157, Kelly's reversal turned into a fall.
"I just squeezed as hard as I could," he said. "I'm glad I ended with a win because I was on a bad streak."
The Bison started the SDSU match on a good streak. Starting at 174 pounds, two of NDSU's first four wrestlers got a takedown in the first 10 seconds of their match.
"Our first couple guys didn't have the intensity that we wanted," SDSU head coach Jason Liles said.
The Jacks didn't get an offensive point -- something other than an escape -- until Marcus Waters registered a reversal at 125, which was the fifth bout of the match. They didn't get a lead until the sixth match when Chris Werth got a takedown.
By then, technical falls by Matt Hermann at 184 and Mike Meger at 125, which were worth five team points each, and decisions by Adam Dahlstrom at 174, Dustin Benz at 197 and Kraemer gave NDSU an insurmountable 19-0 lead.
Kraemer's win capped a six-match winning streak to finish the season, including a dramatic decision at the University of Wyoming that gave the Bison a 22-21 victory. He ended as the winningest NDSU wrestler at 31-7.
"I didn't know what to expect coming into this year," Kraemer said. "I didn't know about wrestling at heavyweight. You're never satisfied but I'm happy with it."
The Jackrabbits finished 10-8 with a team that had two juniors and the rest freshmen or sophomores against NDSU.
They rallied for both of their wins, getting points in the last 25 seconds at 141 and 149.
174: Adam Dahlstrom, NDSU, dec. Travis Gottschalk, 12-5.
184: Matt Hermann, NDSU, tech. fall over Levi Krehmayer, 23-8, 4:22.
197: Dustin Benz, NDSU, dec. Cody Nehl, 3-1.
Hwt.: Tim Kraemer, NDSU, dec. Scott Revier, 11-5.
125: Mike Meger, NDSU, tech. fall over Marcus Waters, 24-9, 6:52.
133: Nick Magee, NDSU, dec. Chris Werth, 8-6.
141: Dusty Kavitz, SDSU, dec. Lucas Christianson, 8-7.
149: Chad Herboldt, SDSU, dec. Peter Hayes, 3-2.
157: Collin Kelly, NDSU, pinned Andy Everson, 2:50.
165: Andy Pickar, NDSU, won by forfeit.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Jeff Kolpack at (701) 241-5546